Syria: Terrorists in Suits and Ties: Syria: Terrorists in Suits and Ties

by Lawrence A. Franklin

• [Ahmed] Al-Sharaa, on taking power in Syria in December, originally professed to be a "moderate." The Biden administration even lifted a $10 million bounty for his arrest, for previous terrorist activity linked to Al Qaeda, presumably in the hope of moderation actually being delivered. Since that time, however, al-Sharaa and his followers have appeared more as terrorists in suits and ties.
• The country's new constitution, published on March 14, stipulates that Islamic Sharia jurisprudence is the sole source of judicial decision-making. This constitution also asserts that Syria's president must be a Muslim and that the executive branch has almost dictatorial powers. Moreover, the constitution includes no provision for protecting Syrian ethnic or religious minorities, which include Christians, Alawites, Kurds and Druze.
• Sunni jihadist government forces are reportedly reveling in the massacre of the Alawites, and Turkey has already set up secret cells throughout Syria "to use as proxies abroad." Christians throughout Syria are afraid that after the Alawites, they will be next. It is also possible that al-Sharaa's HTS will be successful in uniting most of Syria under its control, then initiate a genocidal purge against Christians and the rest of the "infidels."
• Some of Syria's minorities have been seeking help from nearby Israel. Some Druze community leaders even asked Israel officially to annex their villages. Israel has established a strategic "buffer zone" in areas of Syria adjacent to the countries' shared border, to deter potential jihadist and Turkish attacks, and may yet again turn out to be threatened minorities' greatest protector.

From March 6-9 – unchecked by Ahmed al-Sharaa's professedly "moderate" interim government – his jihadist troops slaughtered an estimated 1,080 Syrians in 72 hours, apparently mostly civilian members of the minority Alawite religion. Pictured: Jihadists loyal to al-Sharaa celebrate on a beach in Latakia on March 9, 2025, following the massacre in the city. (Photo by Omar Haj Kadour/AFP via Getty Images)

In December 2024, after an offensive lasting less than two weeks that swept through much of Syria, a Turkish-backed Sunni militia led by Ahmed al-Sharaa ousted the Assad regime, which had ruled the country for 54 years.

From March 6-9 – unchecked by al-Sharaa's professedly "moderate" interim government – his jihadist troops slaughtered an estimated 1,080 Syrians in 72 hours, apparently mostly civilian members of the minority Alawite religion. The Alawite sect, which split off from Shia Islam in the ninth century, is regarded by other Shiites as heretical. To people who practice Sunni Islam -- the religion of al-Sharaa and Turkey -- all non-Sunnis are infidels. Alawites are estimated to be up to 10% of Syria's population, and the deposed Assad family belong to the sect.

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